“But now, thus says the Lord, Who created you, O Jacob, and He Who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior . . . ’”
ISAIAH 43:1-3
God did not give His presence to us as a group. No, the gift of His presence, of His Holy Spirit, is personal It is for you. It is for me. It is for each one of us individually.
GOD SAID, “AS I WAS WITH MOSES, SO I WILL BE WITH YOU” (Joshua 1:5). We read, “The Lord was with Joseph” (Genesis 39:2). This individual assurance embraced all of Israel forever. He told these leaders that He would not fail them, and that promise was for the entire nation. We read the promise of His nearness in Scripture, written long ago to all believers, but it should not to be watered down to some vague sentiment. It is a personal guarantee to me, to you and to every reader of the Bible.
You have the full Holy Spirit, in person and in power–not a partial Holy Spirit. He is not present in bits and pieces. You don’t need more of God. You have all of Him and His fullness. Just surrender to Him, believe that He is truly all there and you will see amazing manifestations of the Holy Spirit in your life.
MORE OF GOD? PLEASE TAKE NOTE: IF WE ARE IN THE OCEAN, we are wet and cannot get wetter. We are wet with the whole Pacific, the whole Atlantic of the Spirit, not dampened by a drop from a child’s seaside bucket. The wetness, the water that clings to us, stretches to the shoreless reaches of God. We are one in the Spirit with all who bathe in those waters. Think about it. Apostle Paul said, “For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body . . . and we were all given the one Spirit to drink” (1 Corinthians 12:13). The spiritual sign is fire—fervency. The physical sign is speaking with tongues.
The Father joins with the Son to ensure we are cared for. “ Your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). I like to think of it as a locked safe in a strong-room. We are in double safety. Nothing can separate us.
I LIVE WITH THE ASSURANCE THAT I AM WASHED IN THE BLOOD of Jesus, and nobody can pluck me from His hand (John 10:28- 30). Satan cannot kidnap my soul. It is hidden with Christ in God, and it bears the seal-mark of the blood of Christ (1 Peter 1:18, 19). “Rejoice . . . again I will say rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4).
Let this truth sink deep into your soul. Let it reflect in your life–in everything you do or wherever you go. The Lord is with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). This is not a cliché or charismatic jargon. It is a spiritual truth and reality.
WE HAVE THE HABIT OF PRAYING, AS I USED TO WHEN I WAS A young man, “Please, Lord Jesus, come into our midst.” One day, I woke up and said, “How can I plead with someone to come who promised to never leave me?” This is true of Jesus, Who promised to never, ever leave us (Matt 28:20). We need to live in the reality of His constant presence and change our old style of prayer.